Book support attachment



Sept 30, 1952 H. R. FAULKNER ET A1. 2,612,427

BooK SUPPORT ATTACHMENT Filed 0G13. 14, 1948 2 SHEETS--SHEET l yz w au@ fm www Sept. 30, 1952 H. R. FAULKNER Erm. 2,612,427

BooK SUPPORT ATTACHMENT Filed oct. 14, 194s 2' SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Sept. 30, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENTfoFFics BooK SUPPORT ATTACHMENT Harry RichardA Faulkner, JosephNewland Pettus', and John Rodman Bradshaw; Stanford, Ky.

...Application October. 14, 1948,'.Serial No. y54,502

v 14 Claims.

IIfhis invention relates generally to an attachment. for` a table, cabinet or other suitable housing which'would adaptJ the same to a support for heavy volumes such as catalogs, telephone directories, or the like. The attachment comprising. our inventionV enables such volumes to. be'readily accessible for use by enabling them to be swiveled to the top of the cabinet structure; and when not in use the volumes` can be reversely swiveled `with the utmost ease to a suD- ported and inverted position beneath the table top and within the cabinet where they are out ofthe way of the user.

'Our invention is of particular utility in various types of large. oiiices where it is necessary tohave at hand for. immediate access and reference a large bulk of, printed information. As

an example, libraries and oiiices of recording,

telephone and sales personnel could be mentioned as nding this unit particularly useful.

In such ofces bulky volumes containing inforv mation needed `at. a moments notice must be available and this uniti-ills this particular need. The invention is particularly suitable for mounting, in looseleaf fashion, various bulky papers,

suchas maps, drawings and related large sizeA printed sheets.

In thepast, efforts have been 'made to manu- V facturev prefabricated tables or'retaining structuresadapted to house Ymaterial of ythe sort referred' to. "However, the devices of the prior art necessitate a specialized form of cabinet structure and, in general,A prohibit the use of a flat, unbroken table top. Such devices do not enable swivelingvofl a volume from an out of the way' place to a horizontal position iiat upon the' top'where it may be readily rotated for perusal. The inherent disadvantages of such structures are ob'viated by our invention which enables any ordinary desk, table orV cabinet'of suitable size and space to be readily adaptable to the use which We'have described: the housing of.V these large volumes in an inverted position within thev structure Where they are accessible, at the 'desire of lthe user, for fswivelingfto a horizontal position upon the top Vof. the structure. The' unitncomprising our' invention leliminates the necessity of altering, mutilating, 4or disassembling vthev top' ofsuch a supportfin any way andis designed .to be readily attachedto almost any' conceivable'type' of cabinet structure.

' A'c'c `or`dingly','.itisv an objectfof this invention to provide' a. unit which, by simple attachment tol av cabinet structure; enables transformation ofthat v'structure intov a suitable. housing for large unwieldy volumes.

It isa further. object of th'einvention. to provide alsimple means whereby volumes so'housed within a cabinet. structure may be Withdrawn therefrom. and swiveled .tol a. position upo'nfthi-zj top of the structure where they are readily4 avail?. able for use. l

. It is a further object of our inventionlto devise means whereby the volume when so placedupo'n the topv ofthe `cabinet as referred to, may be' 'roftated in the plane of. the cabinetl orctabletop so that. the volume. can. be'per'used" vfrom "any desired angle.

Another unique feature of ouriinvention isf'the' provision of alternate and simple means which facilitate the detachment of.. any single volume from the swivel support' and the 'ready insertion of any alternative'or additional volumejtopan empty binder.` y I By-reason of thefactlthat'thelunit comprising the invention .need not be fabricatedtoitarry particular designfof.y cabinet' support', butlis 1assembled so as tobe suitable'I for placement on various sizes andfshapes of cabinet structures, the invention .affords notionly' great economies to the user but'represents lthel extremein simplicity and economy ofV manufacture'. I

It' Will be apparent from'areading ofithe following description that this inventionv has many other advantages, fuses and alternates vnot recited in the foregoing' but all of which come within the scope of theV present-disclosure and claims.

The 'instant applicationis'a continuation-inpart ofi'our' copending" application,V Serial IfNo. 1323; now'Pa'tent No. 2,494,382.

` For a betterunderstanding of thel elements of our invention and their in-terrelation to produce'the results desired, reference is made-'to the accompanying drawings in which: v i

Figure l is a perspective view of a modification of the assembled unit comprising the y invention. v

'Figure 2" is a cross-section of the unit v'shown in Figure 1. n Figure 3 is a cross-section taken upon the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 isa perspective of' ai'modificationfofv theretaining meansv shown in Figure 1..

Figure 5 is a cross-'section of a modification of the retaining means. y, Figure 6 is alongitudinal.cross-section taken upon the line 6 6 of Figure 5. 1

Figure 7 is a bottom plan view of the. modifca`- tion shown in FigureV 6.

Figure 8 is a furtherlmodication o'f the .book retaining' means.

Figure 9 is a cross-section taken upon line 9-9 of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a detail view in perspective of a modified form of book retaining means.

Figure 11 is a perspective View of the detail of Figure 10 shown in position upon a volume mounted therebetween, so that any desired number of volumes may be supported in the manner to be described. The swivel or carrier arm to which we will later refer is yadapted to rotate and reciprocate upon a suitable trackwayV generally indicated at 5 in Figure 2. This trackway isffabricated of plate metal or angle iron or any other appropriate rigid material. lts top 6 is affixed in any appropriate manner such as by screws 'I to the undersideof the table top 'I. The top 6 ofthe trackway has dependent from each side thereof, anges 8 formed at right angles thereto. and these ilanges are in -turn provided with additional anges 9, at right angles to flanges 8. Flang'es 9 thereby provide separate parallel and horizontal rails for supporting the rollers of the carrier arm. The inner or back portion of the trackway may be 'also anged downwardly as at I to provide a stop, preventing further movement of the carrier arm when it is swlveled down from the top and moved rearwardly to its stowed position within the cabinet structure. Preferably, the stop I0 has affixed thereto a rubber cushion I2 or similar resilient mounting `to prevent shock or undue noise should the swivel arm inadvertently be rolled rearwardly with unnecessary force. It will be noted that the opposite end of each rai1'9 terminates in a stop II arranged perpendicularly to" the said rail. 4Adjacent each stop II the rail is dished or rounded so as to provide a cup 4I3 suitable for the reception of the swivel' arm rollers. Approximately opposite the stop II we have provided a unique locking means for maintaining the swivelarm in the position shown when it is rotated from within the cabinet structure Ato .the position illustrated in Figure 2, or vice versa. ThisV locking means consists of a spring metal element I4 bent upon itself at one end at I5 to assume a hook shape. The longer piece of the member is secured in position bel tween plate l6 and the top I-'by any suitable media such as rivets I6. locking element is fabricated with a transverse The hook portion I5 of the groove as at II adapted to engage the axle provided for thecarrier arm. rollers. This hook portion of the look also terminates in a downwardly bent tip `I8 which facilitates reception of the axle when it is forced into the position shown in Figure 2. The manner of operation of the lock just described should be obvious from the foregoing.

When it is desired to swivel the arm into the y. former.

tion to another is accomplished without reciprocal movement of the arm. The resilient nature of the metal of which the lock is fabricated will be suflicient to retain the arm in the position shown until it is reversely rotated and a suicient force is exerted to slip the roller axle out of engagement with groove I1 and the rollers out of engagementwith cups I3.

The carrier arm designed to be reciprocated and rotated upon the rails 9, as described in the foregoing, is generally indicated at 20. It may be fabricated in one piece of any suitable material, preferably metal strip or angle iron. On each side it has dependent anges 2| which extend v throughout its length. It is comprised of a long arm 22 and a shorter arm 23 parallel to the These are spaced a suitable distance from each other, sufiicient to conveniently encompass various widths of table tops,vby a right angular interconnecting segment 24. AOneend of the base 22 of the carrier is angularly bent as shown in Figure 2 to provideY a backing 25 kfor a suitable mountv 26 designed to receive a title c ard 2T. To prevent marrng the surface of top I; and to support the carrier arm in a position parallel to said top as illustrated in FigureV 2; a resilient, mount or cushion 28 is affixed thereto adjacent said backing 25. v

The shorter length 23 of the carrier arm is also provided with a rotating roller 30 mounted upon a suitable axle 3|. The latter can be yaffixed to the carrier through appropriate apertures in flanges 2 I. The roller 30 is designed to bear upon the inner surface of plate 6 of the trackway when the arm 20 is in a position reverse of that shown in Figure 2 or, in other words, when the arm has been rotated clockwise 180, and'to a position underneath the table top with the supported volume hanging perpendicularly therefrom.

Means are provided t0 enable the carrier to reciprocably and rotatably engage the trackway in the form of two rollers 35 and 36 supported upon a bearing member 3'I. The latter may be mounted through suitable apertures in each one of the flange members 2I. These rollers are spaced sufliciently so that each one of them will ride upon its complementary rail 9. Thus these rollers, in conjunction with roller 30, permit reciprocal movement with a, minimum of eiort and when locked as shown in Figure 2, and as herevinbefore described, provide the axis about which the carrier arm may be rotated.y

In Figure 1 we have illustrated one embodiment of a suitable volume retaining means. This comprises a plate 40 having inturned edges or flanges 4I designed to additionally support the back of the volume. Each end of the plate is provided with a perpendicular flange 42 and 43, designed as a support for longitudinally extending retaining rods 44. In Figures ll and 2 these rods are illustrated as bicycle spokes, which extend through appropriate apertures in flanges 42 and 43, and may be heldin position by bending over one end 46 thereof and afxing the usual type of threaded nui'l 45 at the opposite end. In this modification we nd it desirable to employ metal binders 53 hingedly connected to each side of the swivel arm 20. To this end notches 54, 55 and 56 may be cut in the corners of each side of the carrier arm of sufficient size to accommodate complementary hinge pin supports 51, 58 and 59 which in turn are merely bent over abutments spective cups I3. By locking the carrier arm in this manner, rotation thereof 180 from one posiextending from the adjacent edgeof vthe said binder 53. Each of these', abutments are bent uponithemselves'mso Kasf-to"f'oi'm -avlug havingran aperture suitable for therece'p-tion'of a hinge pin, not ishown'; which ycouldbe removably' securedf in each "uppert'corner of `the-swivel arm 2|. The positionl 'of af-volume after'- it-'is vsecured by'means of theA longitudinalv 4ro'ds 44 "within the'binder A53 is indicated iii dottedli'ne 'at 56.`

AThe retaining plate 4t is' mountedior'rotation uponthecarrier in order' that when'thelatter is^po`sitioned as shownin Figure' 2, the volume may'bciturn'ed' in any desired' direction at the option iofth'euserr' Swiveling'of this plateis accomplished 'by afxing'there'to 'at' its mid-point a pin 50, headed at one endan'd'v secured `by Weldingfor other Aappropriate' media; yto the said plate. At"the `oppositeendof pinis affixed a cross-pin "51 bflittlelesstlian the 'length ofslot 52'in'o'rder"that it "could be' inserted inl the latter'. When so inserted and given' a'v 90 turn 'the' pin 50 would .assume'the lock'ingjpositionshown in4 Figure 2 whichisthe position desired forretentionoftheivolumewhen it isswiveled upon the arm' to its stowage' beneath the'table top.

Alternateform's of swivel or'carrier plates may beiutilized "as, for instance, that'shown at 6D which comprises' a Vtrough-shaped plate metal member provided with bent-up side portions B2. The' latter are utilized assupports for'cross-bars 63, 'a desirable formof retaining rod for looseleaf pages. Eachl of 'the cross-rods 63 isy preferably retain'ed'in placeby'such :means as a threaded b'oltldfin'order'that they'can be readily removed for replacement or interchange of the volume. As will be seen in Figure 4,'the'ke'yway is formed inthe platev itself Hand is represented Vby a vcircular opening 6 5, transversely cut'jby a longitudinal slot66. "this typeof'plate be used, then it is obviousth'atthe locking pin' such' as that illustrated' atv 50, would necessarilybe reversed with the head portion secured in the swivel arm and cross-pin .extending upwardly to engage the key- Way65.

Forthi'ckv l'ooseleaf volumes having covers and bindings of paper or any material not sufficiently ri'gidoffitself to 'offer suitable. support for the volume, we have found that an alternate such astthatpi'ctured in Figures 5 and -6 may be. desirable. Here'the. volume comprising a number .of looseleaf pages 'isindicated at lll. The back 1I of'thejbinder has'theusual side covers 12which may. .belattached by .appropriatehin'geslB tolthe back', althoughit isobvious that other types Aof looseleaf binders', Asuch a'slthose 'with back and sides of one piece, are also adaptable for. attachment to the. carrierr army inv themanner to be described. Posts lor' rings. for the.v retention of pagesof. thebinderare not showrnbut would be, of the usual type and secured to back 1 I in the customary manner, The latter member 'H of the ',looseleafv binderV is lreinforced by an additional' support-'M fabricated of wood, plastic or other, obvious material, the latter also serving the purpose Vof pro'vidingfa suitablekeyway 11. Support T4 is Vanred to member 1| by a Vplurality of bolts, one of which is'representedat 15 and which is secured in. place by aA complementary threaded'nujffliQv It is ,obviousthat not only should'the member, 1,4 be of -such thickness las 'to lend 'strength and .rigidity tothe looseleaf volume'when attached as described but should bei'ofsuiiicient depthv to provide space* for" the keyway already referred to. 4As indicated in Figure/6, the'keyway '1T providesV for reception said vpin 'I8` in the base platellland provide thev usual'keyway'in the swivel arm. Either" method may be used dependent upon theparticular requisites of manufacturer and user 'of the device:V

It is sometimes desirable to insertfina carrierf arm of the foregoing description, avheavyf bound' volume or book and in this event some' means is desirable" which could accomplish the 'fore-f going -results without substantial mutilation 'foi the book binding. It has been :found that thecombination' of elements illustrated'inffigures'l8` and 9 accomplish this purpose andfurtl'fler;v that by this particular arrangement 'of parts, a bound? volume Bil, having the usual stiff covers'c Aand' 80h; can be Vsecured in the 'carrier arm andremoved' without undue inconvenience. AHere 'the' heavybacking support, preferably cih-wood, "is sliown'at lf It is designed to maintain `ajbooli f in' position upon 'the Iswivel arm in thefollovv-` Y offthe backing element, entirelyfsurround'rmemandlockingenjgagernent with a pin-"18 upon the .Y

latters'insertion androtation 4to locking position.

berv 8| vand are insertedv through appropriate openings 4i315 in the binding ofthe volume'to" termina-te inside thereof. The ears mustof necessity be inwardly inclined at an angle as at 88K.

They are apertured as atar to receivetransverse binding posts 8S which can be removably mount-v edupon the saidears in'any well known manner,l EachV 'of theears is'vsecure'd to member 8l 'by appropriate' rivetsii and SI2 or` other' obvious media. As stated, the two end metal ears com'- pletely surround element BI, Howeverfthis is nottrue of the intermediate ear 83 since, because of its positioning, it 'wouldthen interfere with thelocking pin keyway. Accordingly, it is placed adjacent the inner side of 8| and riveted'inp'lace injthe manner heretofore described' and as'shown in -Figure 9.' Although "the locking pin in this modification' is not illustrated; it is apparent here also 'that twoalternatives of construction'are availablezEither the pin may be tightly secured in member `8l so as to adaptit for insertionfin a keyway upon the swivel arm, or the keyway itself maybe. formedl in element 8l so that'it could engage a locking pin mounted uponthe swivel arm. As shown in Figures 3 and 9; the latter method isV utilized, by providing a suitable aperture 92' 'in element 8|, which 'aperture' is interconnected with the usualke'yway slot 9 3'.l

Since yslots 81 will permit movement of the covers to'open position independently ofthe intervening'Y pages, retaining rods 86' canv beinsertedandremoved fromap-propriate holes in the pages with comparative ease.

squeezingjactionof the two sides'glill and jlfilz being vsuici'ent 'for' retentionV of thevolume when they' are ii'r'mly forced. together.' The .plate klill) is shown as -being provided'with the usual keyway |04., Preferably the area immediately surround-- ing the keyway is, dished as at |06 to facilitate insertion of the locking pin.

With the prongs crimped inwardly as shown in Figure 12, the volume is easily and permanently secured in place upon the swivel arm |00. When a suitable locking pin |08 is integrally mounted upon the carrier arm |01, and engaged as described with plate |00, the relationship of the latter and the aforesaid swivel plate become clear by-reference to Figure 12.

-It-will be seen from the foregoing that we have provided uniqueA and alternate media for eciently aixing many varied types of volumesA to the` described form of swivel plate. The combination of the one piece carrier arm, the method of locking it in place for swiveling as shown in Figure 2, and the various methods of mounting a` rotatable plate upon a bound or unbound volume are felt to be advances clearly not contemplated bythe prior art. By fabricating the trackway andaccompanying swivel or carrier arm as a demountable unit, it is apparent that it can be made adaptable to almost any type of table support or related structure without serious modiiication of the latter. simplicity of design has resulted in a unit which can be'economically manufactured and, therefore-is greatly advantageous over devices of the prior artnecessitating specialized types of table or cabinet structures before they can be put into .Although it is obvious that this invention may be-varied in many ways and other expedients or alternates employed to accomplish the purposes hereof, it is to be understood that our invention is only limited by the scope of the following claims.

We claim: l

1. An attachment for mounting a book in a cabinet structure comprising -a trackway, a book carrier arm having rollers mounted upon a bearing for engagement with said trackway whereby said arm can be reciprocated, book retention means on said arm, cup means at one end of said trackway for retention of said rollers during rotation of said arm on Vsaid bearing and locking means for said arm comprising a resilient member adapted to engage said bearing in detachable relationship.

- 2.*An attachment for mounting books in aV cabinet structure comprising a trackway, a book carrier arm having rollers mounted upon a bearing for engagement with said trackway, whereby said arm can be reciprocated, book retention means on said arm, cup means at one end of said trackway for retention of said rollers during rotation of said'arm on said bearing and locking means for said arm comprising a resilient member adapted to engage said bearing in detachable relationship, said cups being constructed and arrangedirto receive said rollers when said resilient member engages said bearing.

3. In a bookv holder structure having a at horizontal to-p, means for mounting said book holder in reciprocable and rotational relationship with respectV to said structure comprising a track way having rails dependent therefrom, said rails being provided with roller receiving cups at one end thereof and stops adjacent said cups, a stop at the opposite end of said trackway, a carrier arm provided with book retention means, said carrier arm having. rollers mounted'upon a shaft and adapted to engage said rails for reciprocable and rotational movement thereupon between said In practical usage this stops, and means for locking saidl carrier arm in position for rotation thereof comprising a spring member on said trackway, one end of said spring member having a groove for reception of said shaft, said roller receiving cups being constructed and arranged to receive said rollers upon engagement of said shaft withsaid'groove. v

4. The combination of claim 1 further characterized in that the book retention means on said arm comprises a swiveled channel-shaped member provided with transverse rod elements for reception of said book, said arm being provided with means to rotatably engage said Ychan.-

nel-shaped member.

5. The combination of claimi further characterized in that said carrier arm isprovided with a projecting key member, said book retention means comprising a rigid and relatively thick base member secured to said book and having a keyway for reception of said key.

6. The combination of claim 1 further characterized in that said book retention means is adapted to support a book having rigid covers, said book retention means comprising a base member having tongues extending therefrom to a position within said covers, said tongues being v provided with page securing elements.

tions are pressed towards each other on each.

side of said book. 9. The combination of claim 1 further char`-, acterized in that said book retention means comprises a volume retaining plate adapted for at-f tachment to said carrier arm, said plate comprising a channel-shaped member provided with a keyway slot, iianges on said member, transverse rod elements supported by said flanges and adapted to 'receive pages of said volume, and means to rotatably and detachably connect said plate to said arm comprising a key element on said arm, said element .having side projections, said side projections being adapted to engage said channel-shaped member by insertion and rotation in said slot. j

10. The combination of claim 1 further characterized in that said book retention means comprises a retaining plate having a rigid and relatively thick backing member mounted upon said book, said backing member having a keyway recess and means to rotatably and detachably connect said plate to said arm comprising a key Velement having side projections lmounted onv said arm, said side projections being adapted to lenigage said backing member by insertion and rotation in said recess.

11. The combination of claim 1 further characterized in that said book retention means comprises a book retaining plate having a rigid and relatively thick backing member attached to said book and having a keyway recess, upwardly and inwardly projecting ears on said member for insertion through the cover of said book. transverse rod members on said ears adapted to receive the pages of said book and means to rotatably and detachably connect said member to said arm comprising a key element having side projections on said arm, said side projections being adapted to engage said member by insertion and rotation thereof in said keyway.

12. The combination of claim 1 further characterized in that said book retention means comprises a retaining plate having a channel-shaped member of appreciably less length than the length of the back of said book, said channelshaped member having a keyway slot and being provided with angularly disposed side flanges provided with projections, said projections being adapted to clamp said book when said anges are pressed together, and means to rotatably and detachably connect said plate to said arm comprising a key element having side projections on said arm, said side projections being adapted to engage said member by insertion and rotation thereof in said slot.

13. The combination of claim 1 further characterized in that said book retention means comprises an elongated plate member having longitudinal rod elements for securing a book thereto, and rigid book cover members rotatably mounted on each side of said arm between which said book may be received.

14. The combination of claim 1 further characterized in that said carrier arm is rectangular in cross-sectional area, and said book retention means comprises an elongated plate member having longitudinal rod elements for securing a book thereto, and pin and lug elements in opposite corners of said rectangular arm, said pin and lug elements swivelly engaging complementary lugs on rigid side elements, said side elements being adapted to encase said book when mounted on said carrier arm.

HARRY RICHARD FAULKNER. JOSEPH NEWLAND PE'ITUS. JOHN RODMAN BRADSHAW. 

